


An Ever-growing Family

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Jon deserves to be a crazy cat lady someday, M/M, Martin and Jon are in love, a brief traumatic flashback, for now it's just the one cat though, post episode 159, pre episode 160
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21813595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Martin brings a cat home from one of his walks. Jon agrees that they can keep it.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims
Comments: 10
Kudos: 155





	An Ever-growing Family

When Jon heard the sound of the door opening behind him, he let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank god you’re back. I haven’t been able to get into the bedroom because of this massive…” he trailed off when he finally turned around and saw Martin standing there, a guilty look on his face as he held his hands behind his back. Jon narrowed his eyes. “What do you have?”

Martin took a step closer and flashed those damn puppy eyes that Jon was so weak to (even though he always did his best to avoid letting Martin know what kind of effect he had on him). Then Martin moved his hands out in front of him, revealing the little kitten he was holding. 

Jon’s eyes widened and he let out an involuntary gasp as he took in the utter adorableness of the little creature. “She was just outside, and she was shivering and there’s no other houses nearby, and I was worried that if I left her she’d-” He cut himself off when Jon gently took the kitten from him. “Can we keep her?”

Jon let out a long sigh, as if it was some big annoyance, and then he shrugged one shoulder. “Fine. I guess. But you’re the one responsible for feeding her and taking her on walks.”

“Jon I don’t think that’s how…” Martin trailed off, then shrugged. “Alright, deal.” Then after a moment of hesitation, he leaned forward to kiss Jon’s cheek. “Thank you. Do you- do you want to name her?”

Jon thought of when he and Georgie had gotten their first cat, and how much she’d made fun of him when he’d insisted that he’d be good at naming it. He’d wanted to go with Nick, but Georgie had quickly vetoed the idea and said that a cat couldn’t have a people name. “Are you sure? I’m not the best with these things.”

Martin nodded. “If you want. I’ve had her for half an hour already and I still haven’t thought of any good names, so if one comes to you, then it must be fine.” 

“Hm. Maybe this is a bit silly, but maybe…” he trailed off, and shook his head. “No, nevermind. It’s probably best to leave the naming of helpless creatures to anyone other than me.” He turned back to the counter and the slips of paper that he’d been mincing into fine little shreds. 

There was a pause, and then Martin carefully took the kitten back. He stroked the kitten’s head once, and then reached out to ruffle Jon’s hair as well. “What are you doing?” He took a closer look at the still whole papers, and frowned. “Are those the statements Basira sent for you?”

Jon felt his face heat up as it occurred to him how foolish his idea was. “I just- I just wanted to learn more about my… needs. What is it about the statements that feeds me?”

“The fear?” Martin offered in a tentative voice.

Jon shook his head. “I know that, but what is it about the statements specifically? Why are they more… satisfying when they come directly from someone? Would it sate me to read a book or watch a movie that involves people feeling fear, or would that be too fake? Do the statements-”

Martin cut him off as he took a step back. “Wait, were you planning on actually physically eating the statements?” When Jon could only look away instead of answering, that was answer enough. Jon grabbed the knife he’d been using to resume his chopping, though he was aware that his motions were more aggressive than before. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, I just-”

The cat suddenly let out an ear-splitting screech without any warning, and Jon’s hand slipped and sliced into one of his fingers. He swore under his breath as his mind automatically flashed back to when he’d intentionally tried to cut his finger off, and he remembered the sickening crunch of the blade slicing through bone and-

When he felt Martin’s warm hand on his arm, Jon was able to take a few deep breaths and calm down. He stuck his finger in his mouth to lick the blood off, and when he pulled it out, the cut had already started to fade away. “Do you want a plaster?”

“There won’t even be a mark left in a few more minutes,” Jon reminded the other man.

Martin just shrugged. “Thought it might make you feel better is all.” Then he took his hand away so that he could hold up the kitten to dangle in front of his face. “What was that for, huh? You hungry, or want attention, or what?” He wandered out of the kitchen, and then Jon slumped forward against the counter, leaning his forehead against the cabinet over the countertop. 

He didn’t expect for Martin to return a minute later, bandage in hand. He gently took hold of Jon’s hand and lifted it, wiping off the remaining blood with a piece of gauze, and then wrapping the bandage around Jon’s finger. Then he pressed a light kiss against the spot where the cut was located. He grinned at Jon, and Jon sighed. “Thanks,” he grumbled as he avoided looking directly at Martin. “How about Gerry?”

“What?”

“For a name,” Jon clarified with the type of tone that indicated he thought that Martin should have immediately understood that. 

He hated (loved) the fond little smile Martin gave him. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I like the sound of that.” Then he looked over at the pile of chopped up papers. “Maybe- maybe you could save the experimentation for another day? I was planning on making soup tonight, and I’m not sure that disintegrated paper pulp is quite the flavor that I’m going for.”

“That’s fine.” Jon grabbed the bin and stuck it under the counter so that he could brush all of the paper scraps into it. “Your soup is good enough without any extra ingredients.” Jon felt inordinately proud when he saw the way Martin’s cheeks went pink, since he was the one who had caused that reaction. “Do you need any help?”

Martin quickly shook his head. “No offense, but I wouldn’t ask for your help with cooking anything even if you were the last person in the universe.”

That was… fair. Both of them were probably remembering the same montage of Jon’s attempts at cooking that resulted in food that was varying stages of edible, when he was lucky. When he wasn’t, it involved having to call firefighters to deal with his mess. And apparently Jon couldn’t even be trusted to do some chopping without being physically harmed by it. 

So he accepted his lack of kitchen skills with grace, and retreated to the small living room to find Gerry. She was curled up in the chair Jon had claimed as his own, and when he tried to pick her up, she extended her claws and dug into the fabric. Jon squatted down to look the kitten in the eyes. “Look, I know that you’re probably already comfy, but I really want to sit in that chair, and I promise that you can sit on my lap if you want, or on the couch, but I would really appreciate it if you’d just let me move you.” 

Gerry seemed to give a reluctant sigh before disengaging her claws, and Jon was able to scoop her up. He settled into the chair, and then put the kitten down on top of one of his legs, absent-mindedly petting her. There was something rather comforting about having a pet, and Jon decided that he was glad Martin had decided to take the poor little thing home.  
,,,

When Martin finished cooking, he poked his head out into the living room to call for Jon, but paused before he said anything. Jon had fallen asleep, head tipped over to rest on one shoulder, and a small line of drool on his chin. His hand was resting on top of Gerry, who also seemed to be sleeping, and overall it was one of the most adorable sights Martin had ever seen in his life. It took a strong resolve not to squeal out loud at the sight. He settled for taking a picture with his phone so that he could look at it whenever he wanted.

Then he grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, and gently draped it over Jon and the kitten, not wanting them to get cold as it got later and chillier. Martin wasn’t too worried about Jon missing a meal, since actual food didn’t seem to do much for him these days anyway. He brushed his hand lightly through Jon’s hair, and then leaned over to kiss the top of Jon’s head. He never would have imagined this life for himself a couple of years ago, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world.


End file.
